Sunday Sermon - May 23, 2010

Today is my day to preach at Westney Heights Baptist Church. Here are my sermon notes.

Adoption: God's Answer for a Broken World
Rom. 8:14-17

Introduction
To be adopted is an act of grace; it is going from rags to riches. Salvation is receiving what we need instead of what we deserve. All Christians have been adopted.

I. The World is Broken
In an unfallen world there would be no orphans and families would be intact and thriving. But this world is fallen into sin and therefore broken.

Signs of Brokenness include: wife and child abuse, child neglect, divorce, the death of parents, infertility.

II. God Adopts Us as His Sons and Heirs (Rom. 8:14-17)
Adoption is the work of the Holy Spirit.

A. The Spirit Makes Us Holy (v. 14)
B. The Spirit Enables Us to Call God "Father" (v. 15)
C. The Spirit Gives Us Assurance of Salvation (v. 16)
D. The Spirit Leads Us to Glory Through Suffering (v. 17)

III. Christians Should Adopt Those in Need of Parents
Since God has treated us in this way, it is only natural that we should imitate His grace.

A. Adoption is a Witness to the Gospel
B. Adoption is for the Benefit of the Child Not the Parents
C. Adoption is a Way to Find Joy in Servanthood

Conclusion
Adoption is the means by which God heals the sin and brokenness of the world. And it is also the way in which we participate in the healing of this broken world. We love because He first loved us.

The early Christians were known as the people who went out to the garbage dump outside Rome to rescue infants left to die by exposure. What would it mean for Christian to be the same kind of people today?